The Detroit Pistons are looking to build a roster that can compete for many years to come, and on Friday, they announced that former Suns head coach Monty Williams, who turned the Suns around, would be the team’s head coach.
Detroit invested heavily in Williams. According to Shams Charania, it’s a six-year, $72 million deal, which could reach $100 million based on team options and incentives.
Williams will be introduced at a news conference next week.
According to the team, Williams had already initiated the transition and begun scheduling player meetings and staff development.
The 51-year-old Williams spent Memorial Day Weekend meeting with Pistons owner Tom Gores and GM Troy Weaver, and ultimately they came to an agreement.
“I couldn’t be more proud to have Monty joining us at this important time to lead us into the next decade of our future,” said Pistons owner Tom Gores via a press release. “He embodies all of the qualities we want in a leader for our Pistons franchise and, most importantly, a teacher and mentor for our players. He will have an impact on every aspect of our franchise, on and off the court.
Weaver, who spent time with Williams in OKC, added: “After spending some time with Monty, it’s clear that he’s found a unique balance between achieving victory at the highest level while at the same time nurturing a culture of growth, development, and inspiration,” Gores said. “I’m beyond excited. This is a huge win for us.”
Williams was still determining whether he would coach next season. However, after hearing the vision laid out by Gores and Weaver, he decided he wanted to be a part of that vision.
“A week ago, I was not sure what the future would hold,” Williams said. “But, after talking with Tom and Troy, I was excited hearing their vision for the Pistons going forward. They had a thoughtful plan, and I am so appreciative of the emphasis they placed on the personal side of this business. They showed tremendous consideration for me and my family throughout this process.
“They also showed a commitment to success and doing things the right way,” he said. “As we discussed the team and expressed our collective goals, I realized that this would be a great opportunity for me to help a talented young team and build a strong culture here in Detroit. This is obviously a special place with a deep basketball history, and my family and I are looking forward to the opportunity to be a part of this city and organization.”
The Pistons were excited when Williams, who the Suns fired at the end of their season, became available.
“Monty represented the ideal prototype for our young team, but we didn’t expect him to be available,” Weaver said. “When he suddenly became available, we jumped at the opportunity to speak with him. That doesn’t mean the others in our process were not strong candidates. They were. But Monty is the prototype.”
In his four seasons with the Suns, Williams helped turn things around. The Suns won 34 games during his first season on the job in 2019-20, a 15-game improvement, and 51 during his second year. He led Phoenix to the NBA Playoffs in each of the past three seasons, including a trip to the NBA Finals in 2020-21.
Williams guided Phoenix to the Western Conference Semifinals this past season and was named 2022 NBA Coach of the Year after leading the Suns to an NBA-best and franchise record 64 wins during the 2021-22 season.
Prior to his appointment with Phoenix, he served as head coach of the New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans from 2010-15. Williams led New Orleans to the playoffs twice in his five seasons, and his 2014-15 team finished eighth in offensive rating.
Williams played nine seasons in the NBA with the Knicks, Spurs, Nuggets, Magic, and 76ers.
The Phoenix Suns have parted ways with Head Coach Monty Williams, the team announced Saturday night.
Over the past two seasons, the Suns were eliminated in the second round, and in those elimination games, they were routed by the Mavericks last season and the Nuggets this season on their home court.
Williams, 51, spent the past four seasons in Phoenix, and during his time with the Suns, the team made the Finals in the 2021 season, and he helped change the culture.
He had a record of 194-115 with the Suns.
Over the past three seasons, which included him winning Coach of the Year in 2021, Williams was the winningest coach in the NBA.
“Monty has been foundational to our success over the past four seasons,” said President of Basketball Operations and General Manager James Jones via a press release. “We are filled with gratitude for everything Monty has contributed to the Suns and to the Valley community.
“While it was difficult for me to make this decision, I look forward to continuing the work to build a championship team.”
Phoenix has a solid core of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton, and Chris Paul, but with new ownership, who are looking to win now, you get the sense they may make some changes to this roster.
The Phoenix Suns 2022-23 season ended on Thursday night as they were routed by the Nuggets at home 125-100 in Game 6 of their Western Conference semifinals series.
Denver wins the series 4-2.
The Suns, without Deandre Ayton(rib) and Chris Paul(groin), trailed by as many as 32 points.
Phoenix, whose season ended last season in blowout fashion by the Mavericks in Game 7 in the second round, went down without much resistance. Ironically, in this game and Game 7 against Dallas, where they lost 123-90, the Suns trailed by 30 points at the break.
Even with the injuries, losing the way they lost and losing in the second round is a disappointment for the Suns.
“It was a bad feeling,” Durant said of the loss. “Embarrassing.”
After he was acquired from the Nets in February, Durant missed time due to injury, and the Suns really needed more time to build chemistry. It’s no excuse, but it’s the reality of the situation.
The 34-year-old says he will work hard in the offseason and will do whatever the organization needs him to do.
“I just try to control what I can, which is working extremely hard,” Durant said. “Putting a lot of preparation into the game and my skill. Then just being present for the organization whenever they need me at any point, just making sure my phone is open. The dialogue is there; I am sure we will check in with each other throughout the whole summer. I just think my job is to continue to keep getting better and keep finding ways to get better as a player.”
Phoenix still has a formidable team going forward. Durant, Devin Booker, and Ayton are under contract, but based on how the season ended, you wonder if they will move on from Ayton. Regarding the 38-year-old Paul, he has a partial guarantee for the 2023-24 season, and maybe he could be on the move as well.
You may also have to question whether Monty Williams is safe after two straight second-round exits. On the surface, it appears he would return, but anything can happen.
This team could look different, but the core is still solid.
On Wednesday, the NBA announced the complete schedule for the first round of the playoffs, which begin on Saturday.
Below is the schedule:
WESTERN CONFERENCE
|
#1 Denver vs. West 8th Seed
|
DAY
|
DATE
|
AWAY
|
HOME
|
GM
|
ET
|
TV / R
|
Sun
|
4/16
|
West 8th
|
Denver
|
1
|
10:30PM
|
TNT
|
Wed
|
4/19
|
West 8th
|
Denver
|
2
|
10:00PM
|
TNT
|
Fri
|
4/21
|
Denver
|
West 8th
|
3
|
9:30PM
|
ESPN
|
Sun
|
4/23
|
Denver
|
West 8th
|
4
|
9:30PM
|
TNT
|
Tue
|
4/25
|
West 8th
|
Denver
|
5*
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
Thu
|
4/27
|
Denver
|
West 8th
|
6*
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
Sat
|
4/29
|
West 8th
|
Denver
|
7*
|
TBD
|
TNT
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
#2 Memphis vs. #7 L.A. Lakers
|
DAY
|
DATE
|
AWAY
|
HOME
|
GM
|
ET
|
TV / R
|
Sun
|
4/16
|
L.A. Lakers
|
Memphis
|
1
|
3:00PM
|
ABC/R
|
Wed
|
4/19
|
L.A. Lakers
|
Memphis
|
2
|
7:30PM
|
TNT/R
|
Sat
|
4/22
|
Memphis
|
L.A. Lakers
|
3
|
10:00PM
|
ESPN
|
Mon
|
4/24
|
Memphis
|
L.A. Lakers
|
4
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
Wed
|
4/26
|
L.A. Lakers
|
Memphis
|
5*
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
Fri
|
4/28
|
Memphis
|
L.A. Lakers
|
6*
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
Sun
|
4/30
|
L.A. Lakers
|
Memphis
|
7*
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
#3 Sacramento vs. #6 Golden State
|
DAY
|
DATE
|
AWAY
|
HOME
|
GM
|
ET
|
TV / R
|
Sat
|
4/15
|
Golden State
|
Sacramento
|
1
|
8:30PM
|
ABC
|
Mon
|
4/17
|
Golden State
|
Sacramento
|
2
|
10:00PM
|
TNT
|
Thu
|
4/20
|
Sacramento
|
Golden State
|
3
|
10:00PM
|
TNT
|
Sun
|
4/23
|
Sacramento
|
Golden State
|
4
|
3:30PM
|
ABC/R
|
Wed
|
4/26
|
Golden State
|
Sacramento
|
5*
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
Fri
|
4/28
|
Sacramento
|
Golden State
|
6*
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
Sun
|
4/30
|
Golden State
|
Sacramento
|
7*
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
#4 Phoenix vs. #5 LA Clippers
|
DAY
|
DATE
|
AWAY
|
HOME
|
GM
|
ET
|
TV / R
|
Sun
|
4/16
|
LA Clippers
|
Phoenix
|
1
|
8:00PM
|
TNT
|
Tue
|
4/18
|
LA Clippers
|
Phoenix
|
2
|
10:00PM
|
TNT
|
Thu
|
4/20
|
Phoenix
|
LA Clippers
|
3
|
10:30PM
|
NBATV
|
Sat
|
4/22
|
Phoenix
|
LA Clippers
|
4
|
3:30PM
|
TNT
|
Tue
|
4/25
|
LA Clippers
|
Phoenix
|
5*
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
Thu
|
4/27
|
Phoenix
|
LA Clippers
|
6*
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
Sat
|
4/29
|
LA Clippers
|
Phoenix
|
7*
|
TBD
|
TNT
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
EASTERN CONFERENCE
|
#1 Milwaukee vs. East 8th Seed
|
DAY
|
DATE
|
AWAY
|
HOME
|
GM
|
ET
|
TV / R
|
Sun
|
4/16
|
East 8th
|
Milwaukee
|
1
|
5:30PM
|
TNT
|
Wed
|
4/19
|
East 8th
|
Milwaukee
|
2
|
9:00PM
|
NBATV
|
Sat
|
4/22
|
Milwaukee
|
East 8th
|
3
|
7:30PM
|
ESPN/R
|
Mon
|
4/24
|
Milwaukee
|
East 8th
|
4
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
Wed
|
4/26
|
East 8th
|
Milwaukee
|
5*
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
Fri
|
4/28
|
Milwaukee
|
East 8th
|
6*
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
Sun
|
4/30
|
East 8th
|
Milwaukee
|
7*
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
#2 Boston vs. #7 Atlanta
|
DAY
|
DATE
|
AWAY
|
HOME
|
GM
|
ET
|
TV / R
|
Sat
|
4/15
|
Atlanta
|
Boston
|
1
|
3:30PM
|
ESPN
|
Tue
|
4/18
|
Atlanta
|
Boston
|
2
|
7:00PM
|
NBATV
|
Fri
|
4/21
|
Boston
|
Atlanta
|
3
|
7:00PM
|
ESPN
|
Sun
|
4/23
|
Boston
|
Atlanta
|
4
|
7:00PM
|
TNT
|
Tue
|
4/25
|
Atlanta
|
Boston
|
5*
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
Thu
|
4/27
|
Boston
|
Atlanta
|
6*
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
Sat
|
4/29
|
Atlanta
|
Boston
|
7*
|
TBD
|
TNT
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
#3 Philadelphia vs. #6 Brooklyn
|
DAY
|
DATE
|
AWAY
|
HOME
|
GM
|
ET
|
TV / R
|
Sat
|
4/15
|
Brooklyn
|
Philadelphia
|
1
|
1:00PM
|
ESPN
|
Mon
|
4/17
|
Brooklyn
|
Philadelphia
|
2
|
7:30PM
|
TNT
|
Thu
|
4/20
|
Philadelphia
|
Brooklyn
|
3
|
7:30PM
|
TNT/R
|
Sat
|
4/22
|
Philadelphia
|
Brooklyn
|
4
|
1:00PM
|
TNT
|
Mon
|
4/24
|
Brooklyn
|
Philadelphia
|
5
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
Thu
|
4/27
|
Philadelphia
|
Brooklyn
|
6
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
Sat
|
4/29
|
Brooklyn
|
Philadelphia
|
7
|
TBD
|
TNT
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
#4 Cleveland vs. #5 New York
|
DAY
|
DATE
|
AWAY
|
HOME
|
GM
|
ET
|
TV / R
|
Sat
|
4/15
|
New York
|
Cleveland
|
1
|
6:00PM
|
ESPN/R
|
Tue
|
4/18
|
New York
|
Cleveland
|
2
|
7:30PM
|
TNT
|
Fri
|
4/21
|
Cleveland
|
New York
|
3
|
8:30PM
|
ABC/R
|
Sun
|
4/23
|
Cleveland
|
New York
|
4
|
1:00PM
|
ABC
|
Wed
|
4/26
|
New York
|
Cleveland
|
5*
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
Fri
|
4/28
|
Cleveland
|
New York
|
6*
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
Sun
|
4/30
|
New York
|
Cleveland
|
7*
|
TBD
|
TBD
|
The Phoenix Suns have signed Ish Wainright to a multi-year contract, the team announced Friday.
According to Shams Charania, it’s a two-year, $2.5 million deal with a team option on the 2023-24 season.
Wainright, who was on a two-way contract and appeared in 42 games for the Suns this season, is averaging career highs of 4.3 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in 15.5 minutes per game. Because of his two-way status, Phoenix had to give Wainright a standard deal or part with him, and fortunately for him, the Suns added Wainright to their 15-man roster.
He has helped Phoenix this season, and he has twice scored in double figures, including a season-high 17 points on Feb. 9 at Atlanta, also recording four rebounds, three steals, two assists, and two blocks in that contest.
The 6-5 forward is in his second NBA season, both with the Suns.
Phoenix initially signed the 28-year-old on Oct. 21, 2021(two-way contract), and he made his NBA debut the following month. Wainright played the previous three seasons internationally for clubs in Germany and France.
Before the trade deadline, both the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks made big moves. Dallas acquired Kyrie Irving from the Nets, and the Phoenix Suns also made a deal with the Nets to get Kevin Durant.
With those moves, the Suns and Mavericks have put themselves in a position to make deep playoff runs. Last season, the Mavs made it to the Western Conference Finals, while the Suns fell to the Mavericks in seven in the second round of the playoffs.
Durant has not been on the court yet with the Suns; he is expected to be available at some point after the All-Star break, but we have seen Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving together for the Mavericks. Dallas is 0-2 with Doncic and Irving in the lineup, but in their first home game together against the Timberwolves, Doncic had 36, and Irving added 33, including 26 in the fourth quarter.
During All-Star weekend, Durant was asked about Doncic and Irving together; he believes that duo will be tough to stop.
“It’s going to be incredible,” Durant said. “You see, already the last game they played together, they lost, but they were down 20. In the fourth quarter, they both came out there, and Kyrie had 26 in the fourth, and Luka hit some big shots. So it’s going to be like that. It’s going to be tough to guard them.”
Clippers forward Paul George thinks Doncic and Irving will be great together.
“It was crazy that trade happened, and I joked with Luka today because we usually, what we call fire on him, which is double-teaming him to get the ball out of his hands,” George said. “Now, you can’t do that because if Kyrie gets it, you’re in the same predicament. They’re going to be special together. I know they’re still figuring it out who gets the last shot and whatnot. They have to figure out the little wrinkles, but those two are going to be special together. Elite scorers. Elite playmakers.”
Doncic and Irving have 22 regular-season games to come together. That’s not a lot of time, but hopefully, for Dallas(31-29), it will be enough time for these two to gel before the playoffs.
On Wednesday night, the Cavs(25-14) defeated the Suns(20-19) 90-88 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Cleveland has won three straight, while Phoenix has lost four straight and seven of their last eight.
Here’s the Great, Not So Great, and the Bottom Line of the Cavs’ win over the Suns
Great:
Caris LeVert got the start for the injured Darius Garland and performed. LeVert scored 12 of his 21 points in the fourth, and in the fourth, he was 4/4 from the field, including 3/3 from deep. The Cavs don’t win without the contributions of LeVert.
Donovan Mitchell did not shoot it well(6/20 from the field, including 3/12 from downtown). However, during money time, he was big. Mitchell made a three to put the Cavs up 88-85 with 40 seconds left, and with the game tied at 88, he assisted on an Evan Mobley jumper with four seconds to go! Mitchell didn’t score 71, but he still got the job done.
Raul Neto gave the Cavs a big boost off the bench. Neto scored eight of his season-high 14 points in the third and gave the Cavs life. Cleveland doesn’t win without Neto.
Not So Great:
Shooting: Cleveland could not make shots against the Suns; they finished the game shooting 39% from the field, including 30% from deep, but fortunately, Phoenix wasn’t much better as they shot 40% from the field.
First Half: Cleveland had a bad first half, scoring only 33 points, and they shot 29% from the floor, including 16% from three. Not good, but again, they won.
Bottom Line:
This was a workmanlike performance. Nothing pretty about this game, but the Cavs won. It’s really that simple. These are the wins that a good team gets. Not at your best, but you pass the test, and now the Cavs get some rest until Friday when they head to Denver to face the Nuggets as they start a five-game west coast road trip.
After this trip, we’ll learn a lot about the Cavs, who struggle on the road.
What’s Next:
Cleveland heads to Denver to face the Nuggets on Friday night.
Best of the Rest:
Chris Paul led the Suns with 25 points and eight assists; Deandre Ayton had a double-double with 15 points and 18 rebounds. All five starters for the Suns scored in double figures.
Cedi Osman had 12 points off the Cavs’ bench.
Darius Garland(thumb) missed his second straight game, and Phoenix was without their leading scorer Devin Booker(groin).
On Thursday, restricted free agent C Deandre Ayton signed a four-year, $133 million offer sheet(largest offer sheet in league history) with the Indiana Pacers, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
However, later in the day, Wojnarowski reported that the Suns would match the offer and retain Ayton.
The fourth-year center cannot be traded before January 15 and can’t be dealt without his permission for one year.
Last season, Ayton averaged a double-double for the fourth straight season, averaging 17.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per contest. Unfortunately, the Suns, who had the best record in the NBA, fell to the Mavs in seven games in the Western Conference semifinals. In that seventh game against the Mavs, where the Suns were routed 123-90 by Dallas, Ayton scored only five points in 17 minutes of action.
The 23-year-old was removed in the the third and did not return. Ayton appeared to have some words with Suns coach Monty Williams. After the game, when asked about Ayton, Williams said, “It’s internal.” To this point, Ayton has not addressed the situation.
The Suns could not afford to let Ayton go without any compensation; that would have been very bad, especially when you consider Chris Paul is 37 and Devin Booker is in his prime, so Phoenix had no choice but to match the offer for Ayton.
At this point, Phoenix seemingly doesn’t have the assets to get Kevin Durant, who requested a trade and reportedly had the Suns on his list of teams he was willing to play for next season, but again, any deal with Ayton can’t be executed until January, so it appears at this point, Phoenix will be running back the team that won a league-high 64 games, which means they will have a championship contending team.
Will it be enough?
It hasn’t been the last two seasons, but they have been close. Hopefully, for them, Ayton continues to ascend, Booker continues to play like a star, and Paul continues to get the job done and stay healthy. However, the world-champion Warriors will be just as good and possibly better with the addition of James Wiseman(missed all of last season), the Clippers will have Paul George and Kawhi Leonard back; the Nuggets will have a healthy Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr to go along with MVP Nikola Jokic; LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and the Lakers should be healthy, and Luka Doncic and the Mavs will be tough; it won’t be easy for Phoenix, but getting Ayton back sure helps.
The Atlanta Hawks signed free agent center Frank Kaminsky, the team announced Tuesday.
According to ESPNs Adrian Wojnarowski, it’s a one-year deal.
Kaminsky, 29, joins the Hawks from the Phoenix Suns, where he saw action in nine games during the 2021-22 campaign, tallying 10.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 20.1 minutes (.545 FG%, .333 3FG%, .900 FT%).
Drafted with the ninth overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets, Kaminsky has appeared in 377 games (49 starts) throughout his career, notching 9.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 21.0 minutes (.429 FG%, .348 3FG%, .743 FT%). He has also seen action in 17 postseason contests (five starts), including 10 appearances in the Suns’ run to the 2021 NBA Finals, averaging 4.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 15.2 minutes.
The seven-year NBA veteran has suited up for the Charlotte Hornets (2015-19) and Phoenix Suns (2019-22), posting 171 double digit scoring outings. Kaminsky played for Team USA in the 2017 BBVA Rising Stars Challenge at NBA All-Star Weekend in New Orleans, netting a team-high 33 points on 12-16 shooting from the floor, including a 9-13 clip from three-point territory, in 20 minutes as a reserve.
The Phoenix Suns have added Patrick Mutombo as an assistant coach. In addition, Randy Ayers will transition from assistant coach to coaching advisor on the team’s staff, the Suns announced Tuesday.
According Suns head coach Monty Williams, this move allows Ayers to spend more time with his family.
“Randy has been instrumental to our success the past three seasons and he will continue to play an important role in his new position,” said Williams via press release from team. “This move will allow him to be closer to and spend more time with his family while remaining an invaluable member of our coaching staff. I’m grateful for everything Randy has contributed, on and off the court, since joining me on my first day as a head coach in New Orleans.”
Mutombo, 42, joins Phoenix following two seasons as the head coach of the Toronto Raptors’ G League affiliate, Raptors 905. At the helm of 905, he guided the team to the G League’s best regular season record in back-to-back seasons, totaling a 36-11 total record over his two seasons as a head coach. Mutombo finished as the runner-up for NBA G League Coach of the Year in each of his two seasons with 905.
Prior to taking over as head coach for Raptors 905, Mutombo spent several seasons as an assistant coach in the NBA and G League, including time with the Denver Nuggets, Austin Spurs and Toronto Raptors, where he was a member of the staff during the team’s 2019 NBA Championship season. Before entering the NBA ranks as an assistant coach, Mutombo began his coaching career as an assistant with his alma mater, Metropolitan State University of Denver, in 2011.
Mutombo was a standout player at Metro State and played professionally in Italy, Brazil and Greece, before ending his playing career with the Bakersfield Jam of the G League.